Monthly Archives: September 2016

Sports Network Announces College Volleyball and Soccer Schedule for September 30 – November 11

WHAT: beIN SPORTS’ 2016 College Olympic Sport coverage kicks off with Rice University visiting Middle Tennessee State University for a women’s volleyball face-off in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Friday, September 30th exclusively on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. The action continues through October and November with women’s volleyball and men’s soccer.

About beIN SPORTS USALaunched in 2012, beIN SPORTS is the fastest growing global sports network in the U.S. and is offered on the 10 largest cable/satellite TV providers in the U.S., as well as other systems across the country. beIN SPORTS offers viewers premium sports content and entertainment across multiple platforms including TV channels beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español and live streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. A cornerstone of beIN SPORTS is its unrivaled live soccer coverage, which includes live matches from LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, NASL, and CONMEBOL/CONCACAF/CAF World Cup Qualifiers, as well as news and in-depth analysis of all the top leagues from around the world. In addition to soccer, beIN SPORTS serves as a haven to fans of motorsports, tennis, rugby, boxing,mixed martial arts (MMA) and volleyball, among others. With the recent addition of Conference USA coverage, beIN SPORTS will also broadcast College Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Soccer, Baseball, Softball and Volleyball. Thru beIN SPORTS CONNECT, authenticated subscribers can also enjoy all the exciting action from the two networks and stream live overflow matches offered in HD on your computer, tablet or smart phone.

About Conference USAConference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference based in Irving, Texas, that services 14 institutions of higher education – Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Now in its third decade, Conference USA has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics with an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and leadership in competition, academics and community.

More information can be found on our web site, www.ConferenceUSA.com. Fans can also follow C-USA online on social media with Twitter (@Conference_USA), or ConferenceUSA on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

New York City – Tapt is an exclusive campus app that has successfully finished 60 days of beta testing in three New York City colleges. After 9.1 million impressions, the team has decided to expand to 30 new campuses. The app allows students to create memes, videos and other content to share with their entire campus as their real profile or anonymously. Banning of all college professors was to ensure that students had a place just to themselves.

Tapt was founded in January 2016 when one day, co-founder and college senior Andrew Boryk finished his class only to notice no one was really sticking around the campus. This lack of school spirit became the foundation on which the app is built on.

The signup process requires students to use their .edu email, providing users a verified community. Students are also allowed to message anyone from campus, unless otherwise blocked. This, combined with the banning of all school personnel allows users to feel comfortable when posting to their campus feed.

Lastly, Tapt believes that users should meet new people and do interesting things on campus beyond their freshmen year. In hopes of connecting students cross-campus, the global section shows trending topics from all colleges!

WHAT: beIN SPORTS’ 2016 College Football coverage continues with Florida Atlantic University (FAU) visiting Florida International University (FIU) in a clash of South Florida rivals, live from Miami, FL on Saturday, October 1st exclusively on beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS CONNECT.

Live coverage from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium will be led by two-time All-American and member of the 2001 University of Miami National Championship team, Brett Romberg, play-by-play commentary will be provided by Matt Martucci, and former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Jordan Daigle will be reporting from the sidelines.

In-studio shows will be hosted by Jeremy St. Louis who will be joined by six-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb, former Dolphins Pro Bowl wide receiver O.J. McDuffie, and former #1 overall NFL draft pick Ki-Jana Carter.

About beIN SPORTS USALaunched in 2012, beIN SPORTS is the fastest growing global sports network in the U.S. and is offered on the 10 largest cable/satellite TV providers in the U.S., as well as other systems across the country. beIN SPORTS offers viewers premium sports content and entertainment across multiple platforms including TV channels beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español and live streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. A cornerstone of beIN SPORTS is its unrivaled live soccer coverage, which includes live matches from LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, NASL, and CONMEBOL/CONCACAF/CAF World Cup Qualifiers, as well as news and in-depth analysis of all the top leagues from around the world. In addition to soccer, beIN SPORTS serves as a haven to fans of motorsports, tennis, rugby, boxing,mixed martial arts (MMA) and volleyball, among others. With the recent addition of Conference USA coverage, beIN SPORTS will also broadcast College Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Soccer, Baseball, Softball and Volleyball. Thru beIN SPORTS CONNECT, authenticated subscribers can also enjoy all the exciting action from the two networks and stream live overflow matches offered in HD on your computer, tablet or smart phone.

About Conference USAConference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference based in Irving, Texas, that services 14 institutions of higher education – Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Now in its third decade, Conference USA has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics with an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and leadership in competition, academics and community.

More information can be found on our web site, www.ConferenceUSA.com. Fans can also follow C-USA online on social media with Twitter (@Conference_USA), or ConferenceUSA on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

MIAMI, FL – September 27, 2016 – beIN SPORTS today released the programming schedule for the anticipated 2016-17 Conference USA men’s basketball season beginning Saturday, December 3rd. Earlier this year, the network announced the multi-year broadcasting rights acquisition for a variety of sporting events within this prestigious collegiate athletic conference, which will air on beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS CONNECT, the network’s streaming service.

beIN SPORTS’ Conference USA men’s basketball coverage will feature ten (10) games highlighting the league’s top teams. It all starts on Saturday, December 3rd, when defending regular-season champions UAB hosts Auburn in a rematch of an interstate rivalry that last year ended in a one-point victory for the Tigers. Middle Tennessee, who represented C-USA in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament and beat highly ranked Michigan State in one of the biggest “March Madness” upsets, will also be featured along with Florida Atlantic, LA Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, UTEP and WKU.

Listed below is the beIN SPORTS schedule for the 2016-17 Conference USA men’s basketball season. For the most up-to-date schedule of Conference USA events, visit: beINSPORTS.com/us/tv-guide.

Conference USA is an athletic conference designed to promote the success of its student-athletes. Comprised of 14 collegiate institutions, the conference features a dynamic array of competitions in 19 different sports, both male and female.

About beIN SPORTS USALaunched in 2012, beIN SPORTS is the fastest growing global sports network in the U.S. and is offered on the 10 largest cable/satellite TV providers in the U.S., as well as other systems across the country. beIN SPORTS offers viewers premium sports content and entertainment across multiple platforms including TV channels beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español and live streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. A cornerstone of beIN SPORTS is its unrivaled live soccer coverage, which includes live matches from LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1, NASL, and CONMEBOL/CONCACAF/CAF World Cup Qualifiers, as well as news and in-depth analysis of all the top leagues from around the world. In addition to soccer, beIN SPORTS serves as a haven to fans of motorsports, tennis, rugby, boxing,mixed martial arts (MMA) and volleyball, among others. With the recent addition of Conference USA coverage, beIN SPORTS will also broadcast College Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Soccer, Baseball, Softball and Volleyball. Thru beIN SPORTS CONNECT, authenticated subscribers can also enjoy all the exciting action from the two networks and stream live overflow matches offered in HD on your computer, tablet or smart phone.

About Conference USAConference USA is an NCAA Division I athletic conference based in Irving, Texas, that services 14 institutions of higher education – Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Now in its third decade, Conference USA has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics with an unwavering commitment to excellence, integrity and leadership in competition, academics and community.

More information can be found on our web site, www.ConferenceUSA.com. Fans can also follow C-USA online on social media with Twitter (@Conference_USA), or ConferenceUSA on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — GoFundMe, the world’s largest social fundraising platform, announced the GoFundMe Scholarship, which will give away $100,000 toward college tuition. Ten college or postgraduate students will be awarded $10,000 each to help pay for their education. To qualify for the chance to win the scholarship, an existing or newly created GoFundMe campaign must have the hashtag #GFMScholarship in the campaign description and raise money from at least ten unique donors.

Over the past several years, students, teachers, and parents are increasingly turning to GoFundMe to raise money for education expenses, including tuition. In fact, in the last two years, over $100 million has been raised on GoFundMe for education related campaigns, making it the fastest growing category on the platform. Every month, college campaigns raise more than $1.5 million on GoFundMe, with the average campaign raising nearly $2,000. In just the last 12 months, $20 million has been raised for college tuition on GoFundMe. With the average college graduate in 2016 facing $37,172 in student loan debt—up 6% from last year—the need is clear.

“Keeping Kyare at Morehouse” is one recent campaign that shows how GoFundMe is making a difference for students in need of financial assistance. After his first year at Morehouse College, DC native Kyare was named the most outstanding student in his engineering program. But short-term financial difficulties nearly brought his college career to a halt, until his community helped raise over $15k in less than a month.

“We know there are countless students out there who need help with the rising costs of college,” said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. “At GoFundMe, we see incredible stories every single day of communities coming together to make sure students get the education they deserve. With the GoFundMe Scholarship, we hope to make these inspiring students’ educational dreams come true.”

How Do Campaigns Qualify?
Step 1: Create a new GoFundMe campaign or update an existing campaign using the hashtag #GFMScholarship in the campaign description between September 21 and September 28.

Step 2: Also in the campaign description, tell the GoFundMe community why the student should receive a $10,000 grant for their college tuition.

Step 3: Share the campaign on social media and raise money from ten unique donors.

Campaigns are eligible for the $10,000 scholarship if they are created by or for an undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited college or university in the United States. Eligible campaigns can be created by students, family members, friends, professors, or anyone who knows a student in need. Eligible campaigns must raise money from 10 unique donors.

How Are the Scholarships Selected?
If your campaign is eligible, it will be reviewed by GoFundMe. The ten campaigns will be selected by a GoFundMe selection committee and announced in October.

About GoFundMe
Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is the world’s largest social fundraising platform, with over $2 billion raised so far. With a community of more than 25 million donors, GoFundMe is changing the way the world gives.

SEATTLE, Wash. — It’s hard to believe, but school is back in session and while essays and exams may be terrible, getting situated with this season’s hottest personal technology products and other favorite everyday essentials doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re looking for smart dorm room hacks or ways to save time and money on everyday activities and purchases (free two-day shipping, anyone?), we’ve gathered our top five hacks to make this school year your most convenient yet.

1. Nothing says convenience likes your own voice-activated assistant. Cue Alexa, the AI power behind Amazon Echo, with a simple “Alexa” command. Echo connects to the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, news, sports scores, weather, and more with over 3,000 skills available. Order late-night Domino’s before midterms, jam out to your exam pump up playlist, or call a Lyft to take you to off-campus events – all you have to do is ask.

2. Get all your essentials at the push of a button. Never run out of your favorite dorm room go-to’s again or get stuck running to the student store at 3:00 a.m. with Amazon Dash Button, a Wi-Fi connected device that reorders essentials with a simple press. Whether you’re looking to survive midnight cravings with Campbell’s Soup, conquer laundry runs with Tide Pods or pull an all-nighter with the help of Red Bull – there’s a button for every student need.

3. Overcome terrible dorm room cable. With Fire TV Stick, keeping up with your favorite shows from the comfort of your dorm room has never been easier. With over 4,000 channels, apps and games, Amazon Fire TV Stick works with any HDTV and is compatible with most dorm Wi-Fi. Just plug and play anywhere—your room, at a friend’s place, or even take it home for the holidays. With instant access to Netflix, HBO NOW, Amazon Video and Hulu, there’s always a binge-worthy show at the ready. Also keep up with sports and award seasons live with Sling TV, which includes ESPN, AMC, HGTV, TNT, Food Network and other popular channels.

4. Make the most of a tight budget and tight schedule.Amazon Prime Student can help students save time and money by skipping the bookstore line and visiting the Textbook Store. Amazon offers savings of up to 80% off price list for rentals between 30 to 360 days and up to 60% off purchases. With Amazon’s flexible rental program, students can decide how long to keep the material and when it comes time to send items back, Amazon will pay for return shipping.

Features include:

- Textbook and eTextbook Rental: Keep textbooks for an entire semester at discounts of up to 80% with the flexible rental program – including free return shipping.

- Prime Video: Get access to thousands of Prime Video titles at no additional cost. Members can also purchase video subscriptions to Showtime, STARZ, and other streaming entertainment channels through Amazon Video.

- Prime Music: Listen ad-free to over a million songs from top artists like Taylor Swift, Daft Punk, and Kanye West with personalized or more general playlists curated by Amazon.

- Free Two-Day Shipping: Get access to unlimited two-day shipping on more than 30 million items.

5. Study hard—and take plenty of breaks. With Fire tablet, you can store your eTextbooks right alongside your favorite movies, TV shows, songs, books, and more for the perfect work/relaxation balance. Use the Kindle app on Fire tablet, for access to cool studying features, like X-Ray for Textbooks which shows definitions, related pages, and relevant content from sources like Wikipedia and YouTube; or use Multi-Color Highlights to highlight important words or notes in color, and turn those notes into Flashcards. Then, when you’re ready for a study break, Fire tablet lets you surf the web, listen to music, play a game, flip through a magazine, or catch up on your favorite TV series. With access to millions of movies, TV shows, songs, books, magazines, apps, and games—you’ll have plenty of entertainment to enjoy on your Fire tablet during your much needed downtime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

About Amazon Prime Student
Amazon Prime Student gives college students unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 30 million items. Students can sign up for a six-month, trial of Amazon Prime Student to access these benefits, plus unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV shows with Prime Video and free unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos. After that it’s just $49 a year — half the price of a regular Amazon Prime membership — and includes over a million songs with Prime Music and one free pre-released book a month with Kindle First. To learn more, visit amazon.com/join student.

Campus Stores give students in U.S. and Canada chance to win $100 and support student scholarships

OBERLIN, OHIO, September 22, 2016 – Celebrating and rewarding students for their hard work, and supporting student scholarships, are at the heart of the National Student Day photo-sharing contest, which runs Sept. 22-Oct. 20. The sixth annual National Student Day contest, sponsored by the National Association of College Stores (NACS), gives students the opportunity to win a $100 prize to their campus store and support a good cause.

High school and college students can enter the contest up to five times per person by simply snapping a selfie in their campus store and posting to a public Twitter or Instagram account with the hashtag #SMILEFORNSD. Students can also enter on the contest tab of the National Student Day Facebook page. For each contest entry received, NACS will donate $1, up to $5,000, to Scholarship America, the nation’s largest, private-education-support organization.

National Student Day, slated for October 13, 2016, is a day for campus stores across the U.S. and Canada to celebrate their students by hosting a variety of events.

About The National Association of College Stores
The National Association of College Stores (NACS), headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, is the professional trade association of the $10 billion campus store industry. NACS provides education and other resources that help its member stores support student success, the campus experience, and the academic missions of higher education institutions. The association represents all campus stores, which include nearly 4,000 campuses in the U.S. and Canada, and approximately 1,000 industry-related companies that supply course materials and other merchandise and services to campus stores.

NEW YORK, Sept. 21st, 2016 – GenFKD, or “Generation Financial Knowledge Development” launched the 2016-2017 academic year building a model curriculum of how higher education must evolve to meet the needs of the 21st Century economy.

As the new academic year kicked off, GenFKD’s co-founder, Justin Dent, a native of New York City’s Harlem and recent graduate in Public Policy of the University of Maryland, was named Executive Director while co-founder, Jesse Jacobs, a 2014 graduate of Elon University in Strategic Communications North Carolina, becomes Creative Director.

For Dent, the organization’s mission is deeply personal. “I grew up in a community where people believed in the power of education,” Dent said. “There were too many people like me who fell through the cracks finding academic and career opportunities, and it’s mission to change that dynamic through educational reform.”

Digital outreach is the keystone of the organization’s effort to prepare students for real world jobs and taxes. GenFKD, a 501(c)(3), is vastly expanding its new media strategy, generating original video content, distributed via its extensive social media platforms.

“We bring workforce readiness into the conversation through video storytelling,” said David Grasso, a former television journalist and graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School and GenFKD’s new Multimedia Editor. “We leverage real-world stories to talk directly to students about common-sense economics. We believe that financial literacy begins on a personal level, and helps young adults understand broader economic policies, the regulatory environment, and tax structures that promote job and business growth.”

Founded in 2014, GenFKD also serves as a digital platform to foster awareness about the gap between education and employment in the 21st Century. “We offer students more tools to succeed, while advocating for changing a higher education system that is clearly behind the times,” Dent said.

“From cost-of-living calculators to on-campus speakers who are winners of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ contestants, we try to bring the role of business, entrepreneurship, economic and tax policy and true career preparation to the forefront, not the plot of Hollywood movies,” Dent explained.

For more information on the organization, visit GenFKD.org or contact david@genfkd.org for interview requests with GenFKD’s leadership or any of the student fellows on 26 college campuses in seven states and the District of Columbia.

San Francisco, Calif. (September 20, 2016) – First date advice is abundant, but often tips from one source contradict tips from another. Meeting up for drinks sounds like a perfect first date. But is it really? Coffee Meets Bagel, the dating app for millennials looking for relationships, surveyed more than 1,000 happy couples who met through its app to uncover details about what made their first date a success. Coffee Meets Bagel then surveyed hundreds of single college students to compare their thoughts about first dates and expose first date myths.

The top 9 findings include:

1. Couples chatted for more than one week before going on a first date.

- 37% of couples say they chatted with each other for more than one week before going on a first date vs. 23% of single college students who say they talk that long before meeting up.

2. They took advantage of weekdays!

- Couples didn’t wait for the weekend to schedule their first date. All days of the week were surprisingly well represented.

- Single college students, however, overwhelming prefer to schedule first dates on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

3. Couples committed to dinner dates, not just coffee or drinks.

- More couples went out for dinner (33%) on their first date than any other activity. 29% said they went out for drinks and 16% went out for coffee.

- Only 15% of college students say dinner is an ideal first date activity. Most say drinks (22%) or coffee (27%) make for the best first date.

4. The guy planned the first date.

- 62% of men who are in a committed relationship say they planned their first date.

- The majority of single college men (61%), however, think a first date together should be planned together.

5. The guy picked up the check.

- 80% of couples say the man paid for the first date, while 20% split the check.

- Twice as many single college women (42%) prefer to split the bill.

6. Couples kept the first date affordable.

- Good news for starving students! 73% of couples say their first date cost less than $50.

7. Most couples did not kiss on their first date!

- Only 29% of couples surveyed locked lips on their first date.

- 49% of college students say they typically kiss on a first date.

8. Most couples talked or texted right after their date.

- 56% of couples say they talked or texted each other right after their date.

- Less than half (43%) of single college students say they communicate immediately after a great first date.

9. They planned their second date right away.

- 77% of couples planned their second date during their first date, or the day after.

The surveys were conducted in August 2016 among couples who met through Coffee Meets Bagel and single college students currently using the app.

“We were surprised to see certain findings emerge in the data from couples,” said Dawoon Kang, co-founder of Coffee Meets Bagel. “We were so inspired to hear about what worked from our success stories. We felt a responsibility to share this valuable information and help take some of the guesswork and anxiety out of first dates for singles looking to find love.”

Coffee Meets Bagel launches FirstDateSpots.com
Coffee Meets Bagel’s survey among singles uncovered that 84% of singles say they check online review sites like Yelp when selecting a location for a first date. Today, fully leveraging Yelp’s newest Fusion API and Yelp data, Coffee Meets Bagel launched a website called First Date Spots (www.FirstDateSpots.com) to help singles find the ideal place for a first date. Singles first specify their date spot preferences (coffee/bar/restaurant, price and location). The site then queries Yelp’s database for the best matches and only returns venues that have classy, intimate, romantic, or trendy ambience and quiet or average noise level. Finding a great spot for a first date just got a lot easier!

“Coffee Meets Bagel has realized a great opportunity in not only connecting people, but helping them find an ideal location for a first date by using local Yelp content,” said Chad Richard, SVP Business & Corporate Development at Yelp. “Their integration of the Yelp Fusion API will add a lot of value to Coffee Meets Bagel community, and hopefully tee up the perfect setting for true love!”

About Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel is a highly curated dating service where women choose who gets to talk to them among quality men who have expressed interest. Coffee Meets Bagel helps singles find meaningful relationships by providing an experience that reflects the different ways men and women approach dating. Since its launch in 2012, Coffee Meets Bagel has generated more than a billion introductions among singles and more than 50,000 happy couples have met through the app. Coffee Meets Bagel is free to download for iOS and Android. https://coffeemeetsbagel.com

PORTLAND, OR – September 19, 2016: The genius of iFlipd is in the flexibility, as students can rent textbooks by the week in print or digital. iFlipd launched the industry’s first weekly textbook rental service, empowering students to break up the cost of textbooks and only pay for the weeks they really need them. Obviously, for some classes students need a book for the entire semester. Now they have free financing by breaking up book payments into small weekly installments. But what about classes where students only use a book for two-weeks of the term?

This is where students can really save with iFlipd. Students can rent a book for the initial assignment and flip it back after the paper or quiz. Grab it again for the mid-term, and then at the end of the term to study for the final. Now students are only paying for those scattered weeks throughout the term when they really need the books. No more paying full price for six books that the professor assigned for class.

“Students should have more affordable choices when it comes to textbooks, and iFlipd fills that void by letting them decide when to pay and for how long,” said Kati Radziwon, iFlipd CEO and founder. “We have students across 319 cities from campuses such as Oregon, UCLA, Florida, and NYU that are saving money renting by week. By giving students flexibility with their books, they are now in control of their costs like never before.”

Accounts are free with plenty of opportunities for students to earn free books using a points system. Every new account gets a free weekly rental, and every friend they invite, earns points towards free books and more. iFlipd has textbook rentals as low as $2 a week and college students are saving more than $600 a year.

About iFlipd
iFlipd is the first weekly rental textbook platform that allows students to pay for only the weeks they really need textbooks. With the first pay-as-you-go model students are empowered to break up the traditional cost of textbooks. For more information please visit: www.iflipd.com